Wine Australia and Wine Victoria will put almost $887,000 over three years into projects covering sustainability, biosecurity, business data and export insights for Victorian grapegrowers and winemakers.
The program combines $540,000 in Victorian Government funding secured by Wine Victoria with $346,667 from Wine Australia’s Australian Wine Future Fund (AWFF). It will support delivery of the Victorian Wine Strategy 2025–2030 and aligns with the national One Grape & Wine Sector Plan.
Projects will focus on four areas: sustainable winegrowing, biosecurity preparedness, data for financial and business decisions, and translating export consumer research into practical insights for wineries. Delivery will include field days, workshops, grower demonstrations, webinars, benchmarking tools and digital resources.
“This partnership demonstrates the value of industry collaboration in translating research, technical expertise and market intelligence into practical outcomes for wine businesses,” Wine Australia CEO, Dr Martin Cole, said.
“Victorian wine businesses continue to operate in a rapidly changing environment, with increasing expectations around sustainability, biosecurity, business performance and market competitiveness,” Wine Victoria CEO, Stephanie Duboudin, said.
Future Fund
The co-investment comes from the AWFF’s Research & Innovation Fund, which targets $35 million over five years through external grants and partner co-investment for co-designed projects in vineyard performance, product innovation, sustainability and production efficiency.
The AWFF, established in response to challenges identified in the One Grape & Wine Sector Plan and Wine Australia’s Strategic Plan 2025–30, aims to reach $50 million in investment over five years. Its second stream, the Venture Investments Portfolio, targets $15 million in private capital for early-stage technology.
When the Victorian Wine Strategy was released in October last year, the state government valued the Victorian wine sector at $9.5 billion, supporting 23,000 jobs across 21 wine regions. The strategy included $160,000 in state funding for sustainability and profitability, matched by $240,000 from Wine Australia.
